LONDON, Oct  30, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - London's Jewish community has been on
edge since Hamas's attack on Israel earlier this month, with security increased
at synagogues, schools and other buildings.
       "People feel vulnerable and people feel frightened, and right now the
recorded incidents of anti-Semitism are a record," said Raymond Simonson, chief
executive of the JW3 arts, culture and entertainment venue in the north of the
UK capital.
       "There's never been this many incidents... in the UK as there have been in
the last 20 days," he told AFP.
       "We've doubled our security. The Metropolitan Police have quadrupled their
visits... to make sure we're safe. It's the only way we can do it," he added.
       JW3 last Friday set up an installation, "The Empty Shabbat Table", to keep
alive the memory of the more than 200 hostages Israel says were taken by Hamas.
       Simonson said the attack made him realise that he had taken for granted the
Jewish day of rest, which he has always marked with his family.
       Around a huge table were more than 200 empty seats, including high chairs,
with the name, age and nationality of the captives plus the word "kidnapped".
       Israel says more than 1,400 people, mainly civilians, were killed after
Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on October 7 in the worst
attacks in Israel's history.
       The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 8,300 Palestinians
have been killed by Israel's relentless retaliatory bombardment since then,
3,457 of them children.
       In London, where there have been several large-scale protests in support of
Palestinians in Gaza, the Met said it had recorded 408 anti-Semitic offences
between October 1 and 27.
       That compares to just 28 in the same period last year, the force said on
Friday.
       At the same time, there have been 174 Islamophobic offences compared to 65
in the same period in 2022, it added.
       
       - Patrols -
    
       
       Simonson said Jewish people in the UK were shocked at the attack, and
remained stunned and exhausted three weeks later, spending their time
monitoring the news and keeping in touch with friends and family in Israel.
       Marielle, a 49-year-old French national who has lived in London for 18
years and did not want to give her family name for safety reasons, said the
atmosphere was "very anxiety provoking".
       "At our daughters' secondary school, the headteacher and members of the
teaching staff are stationed on the route from the underground to the school"
to make sure their children are not attacked, said the financial analyst.
       In the wake of the Hamas attack and Israel's response, several Jewish
schools in London were shut temporarily.
       Local synagogues and faith schools also called for more volunteers from
members and parents to boost their security.
       In Stamford Hill, a multicultural area of northeast London which is home to
many Orthodox Jews, the local Shomrim (community safety group) has extended its
patrol hours.
       "There have been a number of low-level incidents," said Shomrim chairman
Rabbi Herschel Gluck.
       "But these low-level incidents, of course, have traumatised people to a
much greater degree than the normal times," he added.
       "I think, in normal times, many people would not have reported these
incidents. But in today's atmosphere, these touch people a lot deeper," he said.
       Gluck said he feared a possible "lone wolf" attack but was quick to point
out that Jews and Muslims live side by side relatively harmoniously in London.
       On one street, he said, there are 10 synagogues and a Jewish school
alongside a mosque, a Muslim cultural centre and a Muslim school.
       "People just live together without any tensions, thank God," he said. "I
think that this is an inspiration for many other places."